Not sure how to be happy or how to start your happiness journey? This post is for you. We’ll look at how to use a happiness wheel advice from four different cultures and respected scientists about how to be more happy more consistently.
The Problem:
- You want to be happier, but aren’t sure where to start
- You’ve always wondered how a happiness wheel actually works
- You want to evaluate your own happiness more closely
Table of Contents
- The Problem:
- The Solution:
- Let’s Get Started with How to Be Happy!
- How to Be Happy According to the Japanese: Ikigai, Finding Purpose and Joy
- How to Be Happy, the Danish Concept of Hygge
- Mañana: How to Be Happy from a Mexican, Spanish, and Latinx Cultures
- A Greek Take on How to Be Happy: Eudaimonia
- What Makes us Happy and How to Be Happy According to National Geographic
- How to Use a Happiness Wheel: an Overview and 4 Simple Steps to Get Started
- Conclusion:
The Solution:
How to be happy is a complex topic. The goal isn’t to be happy every moment of every day. Instead, the goal is to live a life that is more happy than not. You will have sad days and hard days and that’s ok. Like waves, they will pass.
This posts hits on some major pillars of how to have sustainable happiness and is worth bookmarking so you can come back to it later.
Let’s Get Started with How to Be Happy!
In our pursuit of happiness, cultural philosophies from around the world offer valuable insights, much like the diverse colors on a happiness wheel. This post looks at four distinct cultural perspectives, each contributing something unique from, but interconnected to, the others.
How to Be Happy According to the Japanese: Ikigai, Finding Purpose and Joy
Ikigai is a Japanese concept that translates to “a reason for being.” This is a little different from the Western, raison d’etre, in that it isn’t about drive necessarily, or even a singular purpose. It is more about peaceful purpose. It emphasizes seeking an intersection between what you love, what you’re good at, what the world or community needs, and what you can be paid for. This intersection will lead you to an answer about how to be happy.
The hard part for many Americans is that what we love, what we are good at, and what the community needs often change over time. And instead of accepting these changes, we cling to what we know, partly because it’s familiar and partly because it feels like a part of our identity. We ask ourselves, if what I love has changed, am I still the same person? If my community’s needs changed, was all my previous work pointless?
These are important questions to grapple with in order to be happy. Try to keep in mind that all living things grow and change. Your interests have changed from the time you a small child to adulthood and that’s ok. You are still you, and you are still lovely. Instead of dwelling on this question of identity, try to see it as a chance to meet another facet of yourself. Embrace new interests with joy and acceptance. It is much easier to accept the rain for what it is than to curse it for not being sunlight.
By identifying and aligning these elements, you can discover a profound sense of purpose that you can adapt to any new stage of life, leading to lasting happiness.
To integrate Ikigai into your life:
Take time to reflect on your passions and strengths. Identify activities that bring you joy and contribute positively to the world or community. Finally, strive for balance that aligns with your values.
How to Be Happy, the Danish Concept of Hygge
The Danes are renowned for their happiness. The Happiness Research Institute is located in Copenhagen, and some of the most widely read books on happiness were written by Meik Wiking (a Dane). So what’s their deal? According to the Danes, what’s the answer to how to be happy?
Hygge is all about embracing coziness and contentment. It isn’t the opposite of the purpose-centered ikigai, but it is certainly a different way to approach happiness. It encourages individuals to cultivate warmth and connection in their daily lives. It involves appreciating simple pleasure, fostering relationships, and creating a comfortable environment to promote well-being.
Already, we have some overlap with ikigai, that might not be initially apparent. Both concepts of happiness have some intersection with community. For the Danes, happiness is about fostering relationships. For Japanese people, it’s about finding a connection between our own purpose and our communities.
In fact, you’ll find that no matter where you look for advice about happiness, relationships with other people are an essential aspect of joy. Not sure how to be happy? Start with your connections to others.
There are many ways to embrace hygge, but here are a few ideas:
Create cozy spaces at home with soft lighting and comfortable furnishings. This is a great chance to bring nature inside. Many Danes decorate with pinecones or stones or even wooden furniture because of the closeness these things bring with nature. Try to identify what aspects of nature make you feel peaceful and happy. It might be nature sounds. Maybe it’s candles. Everyone’s a little different with this. But as you begin your coziness modifications, consider bringing elements of nature into the space.
Prioritize quality time with loved ones. This looks a little different for all of us depending on our moods. Some people like to talk with each other, some people listen to music together, and some people just like to be near one another as they do different activities. It doesn’t have to be a big deal or even a big chunk of time. Quality should be accessible, rejuvenating, and comforting.
Finally, savor small meaningful moments with mindfulness. Take time to appreciate how delicious your coffee tastes. Try to bask in the warmth of the shower. Embrace whatever moments bring you small happiness.
Mañana: How to Be Happy from a Mexican, Spanish, and Latinx Cultures
Mañana means “tomorrow” or “morning” in Spanish. As a philosophy it’s all about optimism and patience and understanding that good things come in their own time. It encourages individuals to appreciate the journey, acknowledging that some aspects of life require time, perseverance, and a positive outlook.
Learning a new language or how to play a musical instrument are great examples of activities that can be made more enjoyable through mañana. Enjoying the process of learning is an stronger path to happiness than reserving joy for mastery.
This can be really difficult for many of us because American culture tends to be product focused, not process focused. Shifting our perspective to value the work we put in can take time, so be patience with yourself as you practice enjoying the journey and celebrating both success and failure.
How to be happy by embodying mañana:
Embrace patience in the face of challenges, trusting that things will unfold in due time. Sometimes there is nothing to do except wait and accept the moment for what it is.
Try cultivating an optimistic mindset, focusing on potential positive outcomes and the actions you can take to encourage those outcomes.
Finally, strive to live in the present moment while remaining hopeful about the future. It’s a good idea to think about what could go wrong and make a plan about how to be successful, but it’s also a good idea to focus on what could go right and allow this joy about the future into our lives.
A Greek Take on How to Be Happy: Eudaimonia
This concept from ancient Greek philosophy goes beyond momentary pleasure and focuses on the pursuit of a life well-lived. This is the difference between fleeting happiness highs (like from getting a text message or likes on social media) and sustained contentment.
It involves cultivating virtues that fit with your personality, culture, and values. It means engaging in pursuits that are meaningful to you. It means experiencing personal growth to achieve a state of flourishing and fulfillment. This can sometimes be uncomfortable. Growth often is, but if that growth is in line with your own personal values, it will be fun and help you answer the question of how to be happy.
So how do you pursue Eudaimonia in your daily life?
First, focus on virtues. These are words that describe our character or what we want out character to be. Think about virtues that make you feel positive like, courage, wisdom, and compassion. One of my mother’s favorites is kindness. My husband identifies strongly with diligence. Resilience and compassion are my favorites. I recommend you choose no more than three.
Next, set meaningful goals aligned with your personal values. One goal might be to exercise more patience with others when driving. Another goal might be to try more direct methods of communication, while maintaining a kind tone. These goals are a little different than the ones we normally set because they are often based on our interactions with others, our reactions to their actions, and our own relationships with ourselves rather than concrete activities like running a marathon or reading 50 books a year.
It is especially important to recognize when you are successful with matching your goals to your virtues. Celebrate the moments where your chosen virtues come to the forefront of your interactions and thoughts. This acknowledgment and celebration helps us to become the best versions of ourselves.
Finally, embrace challenges as opportunities for growth. Challenges are often associated with strife and negative emotions, but successfully meeting a challenge and overcoming it (which can sometimes mean walking away) is a great way to cultivate happiness and to put your virtues into practice. Healthy struggle helps us appreciate our own abilities.
What Makes us Happy and How to Be Happy According to National Geographic
The Danes aren’t the only ones researching happiness. National Geographic and Bristol University have been exploring the science of happiness for a while now. The scientific evidence brings together some common threads from the cultural advice above.
First, it should be said that everyone can achieve happiness and it doesn’t take a massive overhaul of your life to do so. In fact, through simple but powerful changes to daily habits and reflections, we can all make huge strides toward joy.
Want to learn more about why small changes are powerful? Click here.
National Geographic and universities all over the world have shifted their focus to happiness and happiness courses due to a concerning rise in mental health problems world wide. Students and adults between the ages of 20-40 are particularly vulnerable. We are fed a diet of grades, performance reviews, and grinding. And modern life is stressful in new and different ways from any type of life before.
So Nat Geo wanted to answer this question of what makes people happy? Fortunately, one of the major things they’ve discovered is that happiness is for EVERYONE. You can overcome genes that might get in the way by engaging in simple, doable stratgies.
So what are these special strategies?
Number 1 is to engage in random acts of kindness. Often, people are not spontaneously nice to each other. It’s a skill that needs to be practiced. So, try to do at least 2-3 random acts of kindness each day and celebrate them. Being kind to others helps us feel good about our own wellbeing and triggers internalized positive feedback.
Maintaining a strong social circle is also vital. We saw this above with some of the cultural strategies. But one thing I personally want to add is that you don’t have to have a physical circle. It’s true that face to face communication is immensely valuable, but so are virtual communities. Human beings have been participating in virtual communities for as long as we have had written language. Sending letters, telegrams, and CB radio are great examples of early virtual communities.
Now our communities are much more sophisticated. Your online relationships are valid and valuable. So are your in-person relationships. Healthy human connection is the goal, no matter what form it takes. Even sharing a short, but positive interaction with the person behind you in line at the grocery store can make you feel happier.
Next, learn to savior the good times. This is the backward view of mañana. With mañana we look forward, but it’s a good idea to look back as well. What have you enjoyed about your life so far? This helps you turn your attention inward, appreciate your accomplishments thus far, and enhance your enjoyment of the present moment. It also helps us prioritize experiences over possessions.
Finally, embrace setbacks. They actually help us with how to be happy. Setbacks (in reasonable ratio to success) help us build resilience and proves to us that we have been tested and still came out the other side. Practice viewing setbacks with positive responses and it will become habit to see challenges as opportunities rather than problems to grieve.
How to Use a Happiness Wheel: an Overview and 4 Simple Steps to Get Started
Happiness wheels are a framework that connects various cultural and scientific philosophies and principles of well-being into a single guide. The goal is to help people achieve more fulfilling and harmonious lives.
Much like a color wheel that blends different hues to create a visually appealing palette, the happiness wheel combines insights from different cultures to enrich our emotional experiences. It serves as a dynamic tool, allowing people to navigate the complexities of happiness by acknowledging the interconnected nature of well-being.
How do you actually use a happiness wheel to be happy?
Take a look at the happiness wheel and apply your own values and aspirations to it. The main objective is to find a balance that resonates with your personal journey. You can explore a whole spectrum of emotions and perspectives by turning the happiness wheel. This also gives you a deeper understanding of what contributes to your joy and fulfillment. This is a holistic approach that encourages a mindful and purposeful pursuit of happiness and creates a more vibrant and meaningful life.
Step one: grab a blank piece of paper and draw a circle with 8 pie pieces. Fill out each piece with the top 8 areas of life that are important to you and give each piece a ranking out of 10 (see the example above).
Then repeat this process with a different color (or letters like a, b, c, if you’re colorblind) and rank out of 10 how happy each area makes you.
Step two: after you rank each area, connect the dots in order. Unlike the diagram below, you should end up with two lines, one for importance and one for happiness.
Step three: think about how much time you want or need to invest in each area. Some people actually like to write down the number of hours, others like to give rough estimates.
You want to check and see how well something is going and how much time you’re investing int it. If there is an area of your life that makes you very happy, but you aren’t investing much time in, this can help you figure it out.
Step four: make meaningful improvements! Now that you know which categories are important to you, how happy you are in each category, and how much time you’re actually investing in each category, you can make meaningful decisions about your time and energy.
Conclusion:
By taking time to play withe color wheel and apply your own standards of happiness to it, and by incorporating insights from ikigai, hygge, mañana, and eudaimonia, you can find a whole spectrum of joy.
What’s your favorite way of being happy? Which cultural practice resonates with you the most? Let me know in the comments!